Orono, Howland - Around 500 middle school students from throughout the state took over the University of Maine in Orono campus.

With one catch: no boys allowed.

That's because this day is all about showing girls that they have what it takes in roles that for years have been more geared more towards boys.

Girls from around the state participated in the Expanding Your Horizons program.

"I think that girls can do anything that guys can do, and that they should be able to do the same things," said Ashlyn Smith, a Hicborn Middle School seventh grader.

"I think that girls are underestimated for what they can do, and we're more capable of things than people expect," said Ariel Rosario, a Hichborn Middle School seventh grader.

The girls took part in workshops involving engineering, technology, mathematics, and science.

"Really just to give them a chance to see some of the opportunities up here at the university and to grow and develop and see where they want to be in five years, ten years, and fifteen years. I hope that they envision themselves in a science and a career, and continuing in with their education," said Barbara Stewart, a Chemistry Department lecturer in the UMaine chemistry department.

This is the 26th conference of its kind.

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